"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
-- Sinclair Lewis

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

VANITY FAIR-- WHO WILL BE THE NEXT REPUBLICROOK TO FACE PRISON FOR BRIBERY? + CUNNINGHAM'S PSYCHIATRIST SHARES A LOOK AT HIS WARPED, CORRODED MIND

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I'd say the new issue of a VANITY FAIR has a pretty explosive corruption article-- if you follow politics. It starts with a paragraph about right wing imprisoned Republicrook Randy "Duke" Cunningham and how his case "exposed a world of bribery, booze, and broads that reaches into the Pentagon, the C.I.A., and Congress" and then asks "Who's Next?"

It's a long story and I'd suggest reading it (link is above). If you're too busy, let me summarize it for you. Despite the fact that the Abramoff scandal is just getting going, the U.S. Attorney's Office maintains that the Cunningham bribery case was historically "unparalleled." VANITY FAIR reminds us of 2 of the Republicrook bribers, Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade, neither of whom is in prison yet, and reiterates what DWT readers already know, that the "brains" behind all this bribery and tens of millions of dollars more was not the simple-minded and pathetic Cunningham but the far more devious Jerry Lewis (R-CA).

In seeking to answer the question of who will be the next government official making a federal penitentiary home, VANITY FAIR offers Lewis, Bush political CIA-appointee Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, Virgil Goode, Jr., and Katherine Harris. Nothing really new there; all 4 will no doubt be in prison sooner or later. But the beauty of the story lies in the eye-popping details and that's why I urge you to read it.

When Cunningham was caught like a rat but hadn't yet been charged, he understandably got depressed and started thinking about the ultimate cut-and-run (suicide). "He wasn't wholly to blame for his troubles, Cunningham later told Saul Faerstein, a Beverly Hills psychiatrist. He'd been led astray, his 'moral and religious values' perverted by unwholesome friends. 'He recognizes now that Wade and others in Washington were part of a culture of corruption,' wrote Faerstein, an expert for the defense in the O. J. Simpson trial, who was hired by Cunningham's lawyer in an effort to obtain a lighter sentence for his client. 'He is troubled he didn't see the motives of the people he trusted.' In fact, Faerstein wrote to the court, he found Cunningham 'naïve in some ways, always trying to see the best qualities in people.' Do you know that Cunningham wrote a 'bribe menu,' detailing how many hundreds of thousands he should be paid for defense contracts, right under the bald eagle on his House of Representatives stationery? I ask the psychiatrist. Did Duke tell you he tried to inveigle innocent people into covering up his moneymaking schemes? 'That was certainly quite damning…. But I never heard about that until later,' says the psychiatrist. 'I asked Cunningham's lawyer, "Why didn't you provide me with that information?" They told me they gave me what I needed…. I am not very happy I didn't know all the facts...' So, even as he was pleading guilty, Duke wasn't straight with you? I ask. 'No,' says Faerstein. 'If I'd known about those things, I would have seen he was not so much influenced by the culture of corruption as part of the culture of corruption.'"

I'm telling you, read the whole article (unless you don't like hearing Republicrooks talking about how they like screwing hookers in the ass). You'll learn all the details of how the Republican Party has turned into a vast criminal conspiracy to rob America.

Jerry Lewis was "a member of the same class" as Dick Cheney for first time Congressmen in, I believe it was, '78 as the two joked upon Cheney's introduction at an awards banquet. Max Cleleand's nemesis also spoke there, though he did not call him Osama or even mention his name. The function was bipartisan as well, Pelosi also spoke.

Shine the big ugly light on Congress. Dukestir and the Cali recounters were part of the Enron putsch.

Abramoff used interior as his launch pad, sounds like a Cheney pipe dream of olde...

MCCain on Indian Affairs/Interior? So ethical!DeLay was Abramoff's pivot man and everything in Texas was a cog or gear or gristle grinder from the Cheney machine of Houston.

Thanks for your reply to Skippy and to me (one of the Anonymous crowd) in your earlier thread as to your involvement in citizen politics.

As an aside, Coleen Rowley impressed me greatly during "Camp Crawford". I emailed her because I heard an interview that she gave on TheBradShow (now defunct), and encouraged her to comment more at BradBlog. She responded promptly with a personal email, and we exchanged some more emails, where she told me of her plans to go to Camp Crawford with a congresswoman from her state who had lost a son in Iraq (MN). Thank you for mentioning her in your earlier article.

Thanks for the link. My contribution to Coleen may not appear immediately because of personal circumstances. But, contribute I will. I don't recall exactly your words about Lamont- did you say he was the "real thing" or the "real deal" or... Once again, thank you for mentioning Coleen. She is the real deal, plus. She doesn't get a lot of (any?) press at FDL, and it is, of course, too soon to expect that. And, frankly, with all of my attention (aside from my actual paying job) placed on the Lieberman/ Lamont encounter, she slipped off my radar. Thanks again.

Early schmirley! She's exactly our kind of candidate and we want her. If you can get her to return my call, I'd like to have her as a Saturday afternoon guest and see if we can let the whole community know what a great congresswoman she'd make.

Sorry if this a semi-duplicate post. I may or may not have posted an earlier comment. I might have erased it by mistake. I will try to contact Coleen Rowley, one way or the other. In an earlier comment I said I was going to first search out old personal emails (a challenge for many reasons). However, upon further thought, I will just get on the phone. Wish me luck.

This is a typical Democrud Party article! You just "leap" to "conclusion" about righteous Republican heroes like Virgil Goode, just because Mitchell Wade told his employees to send Goode extra campaign contributions.

Why don't you consider the more reasonable alternative -- that Virgil Goode just sent Mitchell Wade a nice, thoughtful, Jesus-loving Christmas card? Wade was just returning the love.

Love like that found in campaign contributions is something you Democruds will never understand.

I just love Katherine Harris' "gee whiz, I didn't know" defense about all those stacks of $2000 checks. She may be crazy or stupid or incompetent, but she's also pretty criminal. I hope one day she will write a gee whiz tell all account of her life, with special emphasis on the year 2000.

I just love Katherine Harris' "gee whiz, I didn't know" defense about all those stacks of $2000 checks. She may be crazy or stupid or incompetent, but she's also pretty criminal. I hope one day she will write a gee whiz tell all account of her life, with special emphasis on the year 2000.